California has the ninth largest economy in the world, its workers are staying unemployed longer and home prices are rising. These are a few of the tidbits in a new report by the state’s non-partisan Legislative Analyst.

The Legislative Analyst gives us California in a snapshot. The state’s economy is number nine, right between Italy and Russia.

Only about a third of the 1.4 million jobs lost during the recession have been recovered, and half the unemployed have been without work longer than six months. Home prices are beginning to rise.

1 in 2 of California’s public K-12 students is from a low-income family and 1 in 4 is an English language learner. Smoking has decreased, but obesity, heart attacks and diabetes have increased.

The state’s average driver spends $4,600 a year on gas and vehicle expenses. Highway congestion resulted in 86 million hours of delays in 2011.

And we’ll end on a high note: property and violent crime rates dropped 56 percent between 1991 and 2011 and are at historic lows.

California has the ninth largest economy in the world, its workers are staying unemployed longer and home prices are rising. These are a few of the tidbits in a new report by the state’s non-partisan Legislative Analyst.

The Legislative Analyst gives us California in a snapshot. The state’s economy is number nine, right between Italy and Russia.

Only about a third of the 1.4 million jobs lost during the recession have been recovered, and half the unemployed have been without work longer than six months. Home prices are beginning to rise.

1 in 2 of California’s public K-12 students is from a low-income family and 1 in 4 is an English language learner. Smoking has decreased, but obesity, heart attacks and diabetes have increased.

The state’s average driver spends $4,600 a year on gas and vehicle expenses. Highway congestion resulted in 86 million hours of delays in 2011.

And we’ll end on a high note: property and violent crime rates dropped 56 percent between 1991 and 2011 and are at historic lows.

]]>54noState Analyst: CA Budget Deficit Drops to $1.9 Billion

California’s once-enormous budget deficit has shrunk to just under $2 billion, and the state could soon have a surplus. But Mac Taylor, California’s non-partisan legislative analyst is urging caution as state finances improve.

Not long ago, California hit rock bottom, with a massive budget deficit.

Nearly four years ago Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger told a crowd, “the $42 billion deficit is a rock upon our chest that we cannot breathe until we get it off.”

Now, according to Taylor, things have changed dramatically. “For the first time since 2001, we actually show us being in the black,” says Taylor.

He’s projecting a billion-dollar surplus for fiscal year 2014-15 – and much larger ones after that. But first, California faces one final deficit: a $1.9 billion shortfall over the next year-and-a-half. Taylor says lawmakers should resist any pressure to restore previous budget cuts.

“We could slow down or turn down in the future at any time. And we don’t want to be in the same situation we were in, in the past 10-15 years.”

He’s urging the legislature to create a budget reserve, deal with unfunded pension liabilities and pay down the state’s debt. California’s once-enormous budget deficit has shrunk to just under $2 billion, and the state could soon have a surplus.

California’s once-enormous budget deficit has shrunk to just under $2 billion, and the state could soon have a surplus. But Mac Taylor, California’s non-partisan legislative analyst is urging caution as state finances improve.

Not long ago, California hit rock bottom, with a massive budget deficit.

Nearly four years ago Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger told a crowd, “the $42 billion deficit is a rock upon our chest that we cannot breathe until we get it off.”

Now, according to Taylor, things have changed dramatically. “For the first time since 2001, we actually show us being in the black,” says Taylor.

He’s projecting a billion-dollar surplus for fiscal year 2014-15 – and much larger ones after that. But first, California faces one final deficit: a $1.9 billion shortfall over the next year-and-a-half. Taylor says lawmakers should resist any pressure to restore previous budget cuts.

“We could slow down or turn down in the future at any time. And we don’t want to be in the same situation we were in, in the past 10-15 years.”

He’s urging the legislature to create a budget reserve, deal with unfunded pension liabilities and pay down the state’s debt. California’s once-enormous budget deficit has shrunk to just under $2 billion, and the state could soon have a surplus.